Need someone to tell it to me straight SOS
In my first gap year and everyone keeps telling me to follow my passions which is driving me insane. I am going to work as an MA at a small clinic starting September, which I enjoy but I have no pubs and barely any research experience. (~100 hours in two labs). I have ~50 hours as a PCT from undergrad (worked an interim position for someone who was on maternity leave) as well as a volunteer campus based EMT. I also have ~100 hours shadowing primary care and am working on shadowing specialities. Basically a ton of random experiences, I was an undergrad who said yes to everything to try and expose myself to as much as possible.
Now I am struggling to string together a cohesive story for myself and am worried about what I am going to write for my personal statement next cycle. I have these next two years to really cement my application and am so lost as to what I could be doing. Half the reason I chose MA was bc my senior research lab lost funding and I have nothing to show for it. Every position I apply for in research is a dead end.
I want to volunteer (non clinical) but am unsure as to what. Everything seems so performative and I don’t know what I can do to tie together all my previous experience. All the advice I have seen online is to have a narrative to your application but I am really scattered.
Should I continue as an MA or get more research? What area should I volunteer in? I am feeling really lost and unsure of what I can do to make myself a solid applicant for next cycle. I have a mediocre GPA and a strong MCAT score (3.6 + 517).
Posted Jul 29, 2025, 6:35 AM UTC